Kenny Roscommon apology is demanded
Two Roscommon councillors have demanded Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologise to their constituents as they quit Fine Gael over the downgrading of hospital services.
Dominick Connolly and Laurence Fallon have accused Mr Kenny and Health Minister James Reilly of reneging on promises to protect Roscommon hospital’s A&E.
Mr Kenny has come under pressure after he was forced to deny misleading voters when a tape recording revealed he made a pre-election pledge to maintain services at the midlands hospital.
As the emergency department at Roscommon shut, Mr Connolly claimed promises had been broken.
“I think the Taoiseach and James Reilly should come down here to Roscommon, to the hospital, and offer an apology to the people of Roscommon and the staff and the patients for misleading them in those statements in February,” the councillor said.
The A&E department shut today and was replaced by an “urgent care centre” operating from 8am to 8pm.
For four weeks only, from 8pm to 8am, the unit will be staffed by a non-consultant hospital doctor supervised by a consultant surgeon.
The urgent care centre will not accept heart attack or stroke patients or people in need of major or complex trauma surgery. They will be transported to Galway, Sligo or Mayo.
Mr Kenny was forced to issue a statement yesterday after a tape of a pre-election pledge emerged in which he promised to maintain services at Roscommon – despite claiming on Saturday he had not been travelling the country making promises he could not stand over.
The Taoiseach said that, since the election, the Health Information and Quality Authority said A&E services at Roscommon and other smaller hospitals were not safe.
“The Government cannot ignore this expert advice and, consequently, this element of Fine Gael’s commitment is no longer tenable,” Mr Kenny said.
“I regret any confusion that may have arisen from my comments yesterday. It was never my intention to mislead anyone on this matter.”
But Mr Connolly questioned why facts were not checked before Mr Kenny made his pledge.
“I wouldn’t say it was deliberate, but why they didn’t do their homework and check to see that the junior doctors were in place and it was feasible to keep it open.”
The resignations come just days after local Fine Gael TD Denis Naughten voted against the Government on a Dáil motion linked with the downgrading of hospital services and was subsequently expelled from the parliamentary party.
Constituency and party colleague Frank Feighan backed the Government in the vote.
Mr Fallon said he does not know why the pledges were made but said he was disappointed that they were not kept.
“They (Taoiseach and minister) should apologise but at the end of the day, apology is one thing, but they need to take control of what’s happening in the Health Service Executive and need to look at the dangers that they are causing for the people going forward,” Mr Fallon said.
“So it’s more than an apology.”
Today ministers defended the Taoiseach, with Education Minister Ruairi Quinn saying Kenny's promise to the people of Roscommon was made in good faith.
"I think promises were made," Minister Quinn said.
"I think they were made in good faith.
"Both once the very strongly-worded HIQA report… was published in April… I don't think there was any choice left but to ensure that the safety of Roscommon patients comes first."
As protesters demonstrated outside Roscommon Hospital, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said Mr Kenny’s credibility was on the line.
“Less than five months after the general election, in which people thought they were voting for change, we are seeing a crisis in our hospital services brought on by a continuation of the policies of the previous government,” Mr Adams said.
“Citizens deserve better than that. The Taoiseach and Fine Gael should keep their election promises.
“Full A&E services should be restored to Roscommon Hospital.”
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin also called for the Taoiseach to apologise.
“Fine Gael and the Labour Party misled voters in the search for votes. The attempts to spin their way out of this cynicism is only adding to people’s hurt and anger,” Mr Martin said.
“The Taoiseach must correct the record of Dáil Eireann tomorrow and apologise to deputies before going to Roscommon to apologise directly for misleading voters there and then denying that he had made them any promises.”
